An internal investigation has cleared an Evanston police officer of racial profiling and other alleged misconduct related to his briefly handcuffing a 13-year-old black juvenile during a burglary investigation in August.

But a related federal lawsuit continues, and the attorney for the juvenile questioned the objectivity of the internal review.

The report, dated Oct. 15, was made public this week on the city's website.

Evanston Police Officer Mark Buell was reviewed after an allegation of "disrespectful behavior" for his involvement in the Aug. 30 detainment of the 13-year-old son of a Northwestern University professor outside his home.

The boy was wearing cargo shorts, but they were a different color than those worn by the burglary suspect, as described to police. Witnesses reported that the burglar was black.

The complaint was reviewed by the city’s Citizen Advisory Board and Citizen Police Advisory Committee, and both a Watch Commander and Acting Deputy Chief found Buell had sufficient evidence and cause to handcuff the juvenile, and labeled the accusation of racial profiling "unfounded."

"The Accused Officer observed the Complainant's son riding away from those officers, i.e., appearing to elude," the report says, mentioning the boy appeared to fit the burglar’s description. "These are the reasons he was detained. There is no credible evidence to support otherwise, and certainly not to support the accusation of racial profiling."

Christopher Cooper, the attorney representing the juvenile, called the report a "cover up by a small-time police agency that really needs to take lessons from the larger agencies on how to stop-and-frisk."

The boy was not charged.

Cooper said police didn't have probable cause to detain the boy and violated his Fourth Amendment rights prohibiting unreasonable search and seizure and false imprisonment.

Cooper dismissed the City of Evanston as a defendant in the federal lawsuit on Thursday, but hinted he might use the city’s internal review report in the case. Buell is still named as a defendant.

"I think this report will work against the City of Evanston because it's very inflammatory and accusatory toward the plaintiff and his family," he said, saying it was biased in favor of the officer while painting the boy's mother, Ava Thompson Greenwell, as "obstinate."

The internal review report also said police were justified in detaining the youth until the victim could be brought to the scene to verify if he was the burglar. Another person also was briefly detained about the same time, but was not placed in handcuffs.

"The collective knowledge of all responding officers in this incident informed the reasonable suspicion attendant to this detention and resulting decisions taken on scene," wrote Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington, in a memo agreeing with the report’s recommendations. "It should be noted that when another juvenile was stopped during this burglary investigation, flight was not a perceived risk, consequently handcuffs were not utilized."

Eddington's memo also said the department will seek a race relations expert to work with officers to "enhance their skills" in communicating with the public.

Evanston City Attorney Grant Farrar could not be reached for comment.

Evanston aldermen on the Human Services Committee will review the report at its next meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday.